


Coffee and Confessions

by fuutenfantasy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, James Knows, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 15:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3386795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuutenfantasy/pseuds/fuutenfantasy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Marauders and Lily decide to investigate a used bookstore in Hogsmeade. James and Sirius have Important Conversations. Remus is surprising.</p>
<p>*Unbeta'd*</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee and Confessions

Coffee and Confessions

by wolfstarbaby

 

 

 

“Come on, James, hurry up!” Lily tugged at his arm, pulling him slightly ahead of the other Marauders. James laughed and let himself be tugged, pulling his arm free of Lily's grip only to wrap it around her waist. He took the trailing end of her scarf and wrapped it around his own neck.

 

“Don't fuss, darling, it's right around the corner. And you'll have all afternoon to get lost in the stacks.” She smiled in return, but did not slow her pace.

 

“I heard it's the largest bookstore in wizarding Britain,” Remus commented. He was bundled up as well, with three jumpers layered on top of each other underneath his cloak and a knitted hat with a comically large bobble pulled down around his ears and flattening his normally tousled brown hair. His nose was pink from the cold, except for a thin white line going diagonally across the bridge. Sirius rolled his eyes.

 

“I can't believe we're wasting a precious Hogsmeade afternoon in a _bookstore_ ,” he muttered, shoving his hands deeper in his pockets. Peter nodded sympathetically. 

 

“We could lose them in the bookstore and head back to Zonko's,” he offered in a low voice. “Get the proper stuff Lily wouldn't let us buy.”

 

“Perhaps,” Sirius responded absently, fixing the elastic holding his long black hair away from his face and hurriedly returning his hands to the warmth of his pockets. Remus glanced over, clearly amused.

 

“'Nah, Moony, I'll be _fine_ without gloves! It's not that cold, Remus!' I hate to say I told you so, Pads, but...” the smirk playing around Remus's lips was maddening. Sirius bumped him with one shoulder, not wanting to brave the cold and shove him properly. Thankfully the wind was making his cheeks pink already – it hid the blush he knew was making his face tingle. Remus bumped him back and smiled more gently this time.

 

They turned the last corner and stood in awe for a moment at the building in front of them. Lily's jaw dropped, and Remus breathed in sharply.

 

“It's... it's beautiful,” Lily whispered, eyes sparkling.

 

“It's impressive, I'll give you that,” James admitted.

 

In front of them was a massive, ornate wrought-iron gate. FLOTSAM'S USED BOOKS was written in curly metal letters on a huge archway. The gate opened up on an airy courtyard, benches and tables dotting the greenery here and there. A gravel path led from the gate to the front door of the bookstore itself, which was large and white and beautiful, columns rising gracefully from behind neatly clipped hedges. Large glass windows twinkled in the afternoon light, fanciful dioramas in each one – Cinderella waltzed with her prince in one, two well-dressed men engaged in a frantic sword fight in another, and still in a third Dracula was endlessly creeping up on a hapless victim.

 

The five teenagers stood in awe for several seconds, even Sirius and Peter taken aback by the impressive display. Finally Sirius gave Remus a gentle push in the small of his back.

 

“We didn't come all this way to just gawk at the outside, right?” Remus jumped a little and grinned sheepishly.

 

“Too right. Let's see if the inside is just as impressive.” The werewolf linked arms with Lily and pulled her forward. “Come on, Lils, there's books to be had!” She laughed and laid her head on Remus's shoulder, before dancing ahead to open the door. Sirius gave James a sidelong look, expecting him to be fuming and muttering curses about Remus, but to his surprise James was just laughing as well, shaking his head. He saw Sirius staring at him and shrugged.

 

“I'm not worried about Remus, mate. Come on, let's grab a coffee or something while those two hug every book in the building.” Sirius grunted in assent, meandering up the gravel path and through the ornate glass doors.

 

If anything, the inside of Flotsam's was more impressive than the outside. Sirius was expecting cramped, dusty shelves, a low ceiling, and the smell of mold and old paper, but Flotsam's was nothing like that. It was an airy, open building, with skylights that let weak sunlight fall in dappled patches on the floor. It looked like a theater, with a large open first floor and a second and third floor that hugged the walls like the mezzanine in a nopera house. The bookshelves were tall and well-spaced, squashy armchairs with worn red velvet cushions placed in groups in several places around the building. Mahogany railings and floating golden candles cemented the effect.

 

There was a small cafe to the left of the entrance, and the three boys grabbed a table near the coffee counter. James went up to get a coffee.

 

“Want something, lads?” he inquired. Sirius nodded, but Peter shook his head.

 

“I'm back to Zonko's, mate.” He stood up and stretched. “Gonna do some shopping out from under your girlfriend's keen eye. Coming, Sirius?” he paused, but Sirius just shook his head and sank lower into his chair, dark clouds on his forehead. Peter shrugged. “Your loss, then,” he called over his shoulder as he made his way out the door and back into the cold. A few minutes later James returned with a large ceramic cup for each of them. Sirius's was piled high with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, while James's was dark and glossy. Sirius quirked an eyebrow at his bespectacled friend, who just grinned.

 

“Thought an extra-sweet hot chocolate might help counteract the bitter state you've been in the past few days.”

 

“Prat,” muttered Sirius, but he was grinning as he took a sip of the sweet hot chocolate. It was hot, and warmth flooded his insides as he drank. James stirred his coffee, hazel eyes staring unblinkingly at his friend. Sirius drank some more hot chocolate, wiped the whipped cream off his nose, and flicked it at James.

 

“Stop staring, mate, it's creepy.”

 

“Why have you been such a wanker lately, Sirius?” James took a sip of his coffee. “You've been driving us all mad. Well, madder than usual, anyway.”

 

“What are you on about?” demanded Sirius without much energy behind it.

 

“You know exactly what I'm on about,” countered James. “You've been shirty with all of us, and downright cruel to poor Pete.”

 

“He deserved it,” Sirius protested. “He spilled ink all over my essay for Charms.”

 

“No one deserves a mattress made of squid tentacles, Padfoot. Especially not tentacles that kept him wrapped up and gagged for three hours.”

 

“If you say so.” Sirius took another sip of hot chocolate, trying very hard to maintain a nonchalant air.

 

“I even know when this mood of yours started.” James leveled a finger at Sirius's nose. “Last Wednesday evening, about nine o'clock.”

 

Sirius could feel his ears turning red at the memory of Wednesday evening.

 

“You're mad, Potter. Nothing happened.”

 

“You came down into the common room looking all gobsmacked. I thought a Slytherin had hexed you, but you brushed me off and went off to the kitchens. Been a wanker ever since. Even Moony commented on it, and you know he puts up with more of your shite than anyone should.”

 

There was silence between them for a moment. The sounds of the cafe filtered the air – the harsh whine of milk being steamed, the loud crunch of a coffee grinder, the low chatter of witches and wizards as they mingled over caffeine and warmth. Sirius stared out the window, an errant piece of hair falling into his face with the motion. Outside he saw the village of Hogsmeade wrapped up for winter, frost twinkling in the corners of the windows and the sky heavy with the threat of snow. Villagers and Hogwarts students bustled through the streets, everyone bundled up and warm against the ice in the air. Red cloaks and silver jackets, brown mittens and bright orange knit caps, scarfs of all colors but mostly those of the Hogwarts houses. He watched a flock of Hufflepuffs pass by, bright yellow against the the dark brown wood of the shops across the way, and then turned back to James.

 

“How did you know you were in love?” Sirius asked abruptly. James choked and slopped quite a bit of coffee down his front.

 

“Merlin, Sirius,” he croaked, grabbing a wad of napkins from the dispenser on the table and dabbing at his jumper. “Warn a bloke before dropping a bombshell like that.”

 

“How did you know?” he pressed, handing James even more napkins. Once he was as clean as was going to get James frowned and took his glasses off, cleaning them on a corner of his shirt. He put them back and looked at Sirius.

 

“What's this about, then? All your nonsense from the past week has been about a bird?”

 

“Just answer the question, Prongs.” Sirius drained his mug of hot chocolate, leaving just a glob of whipped cream at the bottom.

 

“It's a hell of a question, Pads, give me some time to think.” James paused and stared off into the distant ranks of shelves. Sirius looked and saw what he was staring at – Lily and Remus were standing there, heads bent over a cumbersome looking book held between them. Lily said something, and Remus laughed, Lily joining in after a moment. Her long red hair was twisted up into some sort of complicated system of braids, and she'd clipped charmed butterflies into it so that their wings twinkled and fluttered in the glow of the candles.

 

“I suppose I knew I was in love when I realized that being around her made me want to be a better person,” James said quietly. Sirius looked back at his best friend. James was looking as solemn as he ever had. “When just a simple touch of her hand made me feel warm inside. When she stopped hating me and finally started talking to me and it made me realize what a beautiful person she was on the inside, and not just the outside.

 

“I realized I was in love when I knew her mannerisms by heart. The way she keeps her wand behind her ear while she studies, even though it's set her hair on fire more than once. The way she chews her fingernails during exams. How she likes her toast just short of burnt, and how Sir Cadogan's painting is her favorite because he makes her laugh. How books make her smile, because escaping into another world is all she ever wanted to do as a kid and now look – here she is at Hogwarts.” James sighed. “I guess the short answer is, I knew I was in love when I knew her better than myself. Does that make sense?”

 

Sirius stared, gray eyes wide. “Yeah, mate... it does make sense.” He let his head drop onto the table and pulled his hair out of its ponytail, letting it hide his face. “It makes too much bloody sense, dammit.”

 

There was more silence, until Sirius felt something poke him in the forehead. He swatted it away, but the object persisted in poking his forehead until he picked his head up off the table. James had taken his coffee spoon and prodded Sirius with it.

 

“Oi, mate, if that gives me acne I'm going to hex your antlers onto your arse.”

 

“Be glad it wasn't a fork,” James retorted. “So who are you in love with?”

 

“Who says I'm in love?” mumbled Sirius, but James prodded him in the forehead again with the spoon.

 

“Come off it. You're acting like an arse for a week, and then suddenly you ask me about how I knew I was in love? You never particularly cared for my relationship before, so what changed? Spill.”

 

Sirius paused, opened his mouth, but closed it again. “I can't, Prongs.” He sagged back in his chair, fingers fiddling with a frayed edge on one sleeve.

 

“That's bollocks and you know it. What bird has you all tied up in knots?”

 

“No one, James.”

 

“Is it McKinnon? I've seen her making eyes at you in the halls.” Sirius snorted.

 

“Marlene McKinnon? No thanks, mate, I don't fancy her coming after me with her Beater's bat should I put a toe out of line.”

 

“Hmm...” James tapped a finger on his chin. “Dorcas Meadowes? She's a bit of alright.”

 

“No, not Meadowes. She hates me, ever since I turned her school bag into seventy five toads.”

 

“Oh, right.” James continued to list off girls in their year, and Sirius shot down each one of them. After Sirius countered his last guess with “not for all the tea in bloody China, mate! Have you seen her teeth?” James threw his hands in the air in abject frustration.

 

“I give up! You must have met someone without me noticing and now they've got you right up a tree and you just – won't – tell – me!” I sighed and blew hair off his forehead. “I thought we were supposed to be brothers,” he muttered, a bit of hurt in his voice.

 

Sirius ground the heels of his hands against his eyes. “I never said it – I – ugh,” he trailed off, cursing at himself.

 

James leaned forward, suddenly intent. “You never said it what, mate?”

 

Sirius took a deep breath and plunged forward. “I never said it was a  _bird_ , James.”

 

James screwed up his face, confused. “Not a bird? Then what are you asking me about love for?”

 

Sirius just stared at him, waiting for him to understand what he was too afraid to say out loud. James just shook his head.

 

“Not a bird, he says. Not a bird -” James's eyes were suddenly round and wide behind his glasses. “Not – ohh.”

 

Sirius buried his face in his hands.

 

“Padfoot,” James began almost timidly, “are you talking about a bloke here?”

 

Sirius's silence gave all the answer he needed. He got up and moved to the other side of the table, dropping down into the chair beside Sirius. He put a gentle hand on his friend's back.

 

“You should have just told me, Pads.”

 

“Didn't want you to hate me,” came the muffled reply from behind Sirius's hands. James rolled his eyes.

 

“After all the shite you put me through during our friendship, _this_ is what you think would be the deal breaker? I don't care who you snog, mate. That's your business. You're my brother, and that's what matters.”

 

A deep sigh, and Sirius picked his head up again. His face was red, but at least he was smiling. James got back up and moved to his previous seat.

 

“So is that what's got you all twisted round? You suddenly realized you want to snog blokes and it gave you a crisis?”

 

“Nah, I've known for a couple of years,” Sirius shrugged. “Took some time to come to terms with it, mind.”

 

“How... er... how did you find out?”

 

Sirius smirked. “Well, the fact that my imagination took an unexpected turn in third year every time I closed the bed curtains was a big indicator. Soft, curvy bits became long, hard -”

 

“Argh, enough, I get it.” James waved his hands in the air. Sirius laughed, and clapped his hands together.

 

“Finally, I can get you back for all those years of ranting about Evans!” He clasped his hands under his chin and fluttered his eyes. “Lily's so beautiful, lads, she's got the most beautiful long red hair, and her bottom is so very luscious, oh, Sirius, the beauty of her pinky nail could launch a thousand ships!”

 

A balled-up napkin hit him in the nose and he stopped, laughing. The laughter died away and he looked at James frankly.

 

“Seriously, mate, you don't mind? Because this is who I am. It's not a phase, it's not a game, it's the truth. It's me. Sirius Black, great big poof.”

 

“I'm sure, Pads. To be honest, I should probably have seen this coming.” James grinned. “I should have reckoned something was up when you told me you didn't think Evans was all that gorgeous.”

 

Sirius rolled his eyes. “That's what should have tipped you off? James Potter, master of observation over here.”

 

“Shut it. Right, now that we've got that out of the way, tell me what the hell you've been going mad over this past week.”

 

Sirius abruptly stopped laughing and looked away. “Still on about that, are you?”

 

“Yes, and I'm not going to stop so just tell me.” James leaned in. “Is it a bloke?” he asked quietly.

 

“Well, we've established it's not a bird, so that doesn't leave too many other options,” muttered Sirius grumpily, still looking away. James nodded once.

 

“Right. You've got the hots for some bloke. Something happened in the dormitory, and it's got your knickers all in a twist.”

 

Sirius shrugged. “Suppose so.”

 

“What happened in the dorm?” Sirius still shook his head. “Did you see something on the Map?” A resounding silence. “Fine, then. What about this bloke? Are they – do they like -”

 

“I don't know if he's bent, James,” snapped Sirius. “If I knew we would be having a very different conversation, I assure you.”

 

“Well, why don't you just ask him?” James toyed with his coffee mug. “Might make things easier.”

 

“Right, Prongs, I can see that going over so well. 'Hello there, I'm bent and want to snog you against a wall. Interested?' Guarantee he'd run for the hills.”

 

“You don't know that.”

 

“I do.”

 

“Not for sure,” James pressed. Sirius just shook his head.

 

“I don't want to risk it, mate. Rather be his friend than muck things up like that.”

 

He was spared further interrogation by the appearance of Lily and Remus, both looking happy and carrying large armfuls of books. James immediately leapt up and pulled out a chair for Lily, sweeping his arms in a grand gesture. She put her books down on the table and sat, picking up James's coffee mug and looking disappointed when she saw it was empty.

 

“Couldn't get us a coffee, could you love?” she asked, smiling at James. “I could use the boost.”

 

“Anything for you, Lils,” and with a dramatic bow he was off to the cafe line again. Lily just laughed and shook her head.

 

“See what I mean, Remus? Mental. Absolutely mental.” Remus nodded in agreement, then took the chair next to Sirius's after placing his stack of books on the table.

 

“All right, Padfoot?” he asked. “Not too boring here for you, I hope.”

 

“Nah, it's fine,” Sirius replied. “Just having a chat with Prongs.”

 

“Oh yeah? Anything interesting come up?” Sirius choked a little and blushed, shaking his head. This made Remus smirk, and he leaned in.

 

“No? You sure about that, Pads?” Sirius was frozen, panic in his eyes. “From what I could see, it looked like quite a... serious talk.” He scooted his chair a little closer. “Pun absolutely intended.” Sirius was turning red from his neck to the tips of his ears.

 

Sirius was only save by the return of James, who had not only gotten a coffee for Lily, but a full pot and four mugs for all of them to share. Remus sat up straight and accepted a mug with a smile, acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. James passed Sirius his mug, eyes glancing between him and Remus. His mouth opened a little bit as understanding lit up his features, and he sat down looking like the cat who had not only eaten the canary but the parrot, the macaw, and several budgies as well. He kicked Sirius under the table while Remus and Lily were distracted by discussing their respective book towers. He glanced over at Remus and wiggled his eyebrows, meaning:

 

_It's Remus, isn't it. You're hot for Moony._

 

Sirius reddened and nodded,. James clenched a fist and grinned, pleased with his investigative powers. He caught Sirius's eye again and cocked his head, looking between him and Remus several times.

 

_Gonna go for it?_

 

Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head.

 

_No, you pillock. We went over this._

 

James nodded his head vigorously, wiggling his eyebrows again.

 

_Do it, Padfoot! Do itttt. Dooooo ittttt_ .

 

Sirius shook his head again and held out his hands in a helpless gesture.

 

_It's hopeless, Prongs! He's straight!_

 

James stared at Sirius right in the eyes and raised one eyebrow.

 

_You sure about that?_

 

Sirius blinked in surprise and leaned forward.

 

_?????_

 

James just shook his head, a smug smile on his face. Sirius kicked him under the table, quite hard. James jumped, and Lily looked over at him.

 

“All right there, love?”

 

“Yeah, fine,” he replied, rubbing his ankle under the table and glowering at Sirius.

 

“Right. Well, I'm off to dig around some more.” Lily stood up and patted James's cheek affectionately. “Coming, Remus?”

 

“No, I'm good for a little while.” He held up his cup of coffee. “Plus I want to finish this.”

 

“How about you, James?” she pulled on his arm a little. “I don't want to go by myself.”

 

James suddenly grinned very widely at Sirius. “I think I will accompany you, Lil.” And he stood up, leaving Sirius sitting alone with Remus. “Ta, lads,” he wiggled his fingers, completely ignoring Sirius's plaintive stares as he and Lily vanished amongst the books.

 

All was quiet for a bit as Remus sipped his coffee and Sirius stared very intently at his own mug. Finally the gray-eyed boy sighed and pushed the cup away.

 

“Sorry I've been such a tosser lately, Moony.”

 

“'S fine, Pads.” Remus smiled gently. “I figured something must be on your mind, and that you would work through it eventually. Besides,” he drained the last of his coffee from the mug, “you've always had a tendency to deal with your emotions, well... raucously.” He picked a book up off the stack in front of him and flipped through it. “I'm just glad you seem to have worked through it with James. Seemed to be a fairly intense conversation, hope we didn't interrupt.”

 

“Actually you came in at just the right time,” Sirius grinned. “James was getting altogether too nosey.”

 

“He does that,” commented Remus, still turning pages here and there. “He trapped me in a corner of the common room last week and interrogated me for a bloody hour.”

 

“Really?” Sirius couldn't believe he'd missed this particular bit of entertainment. “What about?”

 

“Oh, this and that,” Remus responded vaguely. “He's persistent, I can tell you that much.”

 

“Come off it, Moony, spill.” Sirius poked him in the shoulder. When that didn't work, he poked him in the ribs and rested his chin on the other boy. “Moony. Moooonnnnyyy.” He blew a puff of air into Remus's face. It didn't disturb him in the slightest. “Come on,” he heard himself saying, “I'll tell if you will,” immediately regretting it when Remus looked over, suddenly interested.

 

“All right, then.” He put his book down. “Let's hear it.”

 

“I – well – er...” Sirius spluttered a bit. “You first, Moony.”

 

Remus bit his lip, thinking. “All right, Pads. But let's walk and talk, I'm tired of sitting.” Sirius allowed himself to be pulled to a standing position and followed Remus out into the main area of the bookstore.

 

They wandered in silence for a few moments, meandering past bookshelves and overstuffed armchairs, beneath candles and past large arching windows. The first few flakes of snow were beginning to fall. They found themselves in front of a narrow metal spiral staircase, leading up to the second floor balcony. Remus gave Sirius a questioning glance, and he shrugged. They climbed up the stairs to the second floor. It was much less crowded here – a few older witches talking quietly along the far wall, an elderly man snoring in a chair a few feet away from them. Other than that, it seemed deserted. Remus started walking again, and Sirius hurried after him to keep up.

 

“Who was your first kiss, Padfoot?” Remus asked out of the blue. Again, Sirius found himself stammering.

 

“Christ on a bike, Moony, a hell of a subject change.”

 

“Who was it?” Remus insisted, still not looking at him.

 

“You were there, Moony. It was Hannah Chadwick, during that truth or dare game on Halloween in third year. Remember?”

 

Remus nodded, running a hand through his brown hair. There was silence for a moment as they slowly continued walking.

 

“How about you?” Sirius asked, for lack of anything else to say.

 

Remus grinned wryly, but said nothing. He took a sudden left into a maze of bookshelves, taking Sirius by the hand and pulling him along. He suddenly found himself in a darkened alcove, away from the general hubbub and noise of the bookstore. He was standing very close to Remus, almost nose to nose in fact, and belatedly realized that Remus had not let go of his hand.

 

Sirius opened his mouth and very eloquently said nothing at all. His heart was jackhammering away in his chest, and if his right shoulder hadn't been pressed up against the wooden paneling of the wall he was sure his knees would have given away completely.

 

“My first kiss,” Remus whispered, leaning even closer to Sirius, “was Anthony Parsons in the Astronomy Tower. Fifth year. Near Christmas.”

 

“...oh.”

 

“Yes. Oh. But you know what's funny?” Remus gently pushed Sirius's shoulder until his back was against the wall of the alcove, and moved in front of him. “While I was kissing him,” he put one hand on the wall by Sirius's face for support and leaned in. “I was thinking of you.” This last sentence was ghosted across Sirius's mouth, barely half an inch away from Remus's own.

 

Sirius's eyes were as wide as they could go, and his mouth was a little open. Remus was pressed right up against him, staring into his eyes. A tense, strained silence filled the air for a few seconds, until Sirius blurted out the first thing that came to his head.

 

“Want to hear who my second kiss was?”

 

Remus furrowed his eyebrows, but did not move from his position.

 

“Do tell.”

 

Sirius took a deep breath. “Patrick Davies. Fourth year.” Smiling a little bit, he continued. “Guess who I was thinking about.”

 

A raised eyebrow was the only response from Remus. Summoning up the rest of his Gryffindor courage, Sirius leaned forward and closed the last bit of distance between his mouth and Remus's. The other boy responded with enthusiasm, wrapping one arm around Sirius's waist and pulling him in closer. Sirius put a tentative hand on Remus's cheek and deepened the kiss, opening his mouth a little and feeling an electric shock of happiness when Remus did the same, sliding his tongue into the other boy's mouth. The kiss quickly grew almost aggressive, tongues and teeth and short, jerky breaths. They pulled apart for air, flushed and dazzled.

 

“I have wanted to snog you up against a wall for ages,” Remus growled. “You could have said something.”

 

“You should have,” panted Sirius. “Think of all the time we've wasted not snogging each other.”

 

“I've been trying to seduce you for a year now, Sirius.” Remus pressed their foreheads together, laughing. “I got pretty bloody obvious towards the end.”

 

“Is that why you-” Sirius was running his hands through Remus's hair, along his shoulders and his back, everywhere he could conceivably touch in public.

 

“Yes, Sirius, that would be why I left my curtains open.” Remus gasped a little as Sirius ran a finger under his jumper along the bare line of his hip. “I knew you were there. I always know where you are, pillock.”

 

“Knocked me sideways, seeing you like that,” Sirius admitted, biting his lip suddenly as Remus hooked a finger in his belt loop and pulled his hips forward. “Not used to seeing you all... wanton.”

 

“Want to know what I was thinking about?” Remus whispered directly into Sirius's ear, warm breath making him shiver.

 

“G-go on...” Sirius stuttered, closing his eyes. Remus whispered something into his ear, and Sirius made a strangled noise in his throat. His hips jerked forward.

 

“Castle?” Remus asked. Sirius nodded, unable to speak. He followed Remus down the stairs, rearranging his robes as he went. Remus sauntered back to the cafe, cool as a cucumber.

 

“All right here, you two? Sirius and I are headed back to the castle. Got some things to discuss.”

 

James eyed Sirius, who was flushed and breathing quickly, looked at Remus, who was smirking slightly, and chuckled.

 

“Remember, Remus, Silencing charms are your friend.” Remus just laughed and pulled Sirius out into the street, snow falling around them faster now.

 

Lily stretched her arms over her head, arching her back like a cat. “I am so glad that worked, James,” she said, her back popping in one or two places. “I was sick and tired of all the moping.”

 

James just shook his head. “What kind of monster have we created, Lils?” he asked. “Remus looked ready to devour Sirius whole.”

 

“From the look of him, I don't think Sirius would mind.” Lily stood to put her cloak back on. James followed suit, picking up her pile of books before she could protest. “Let's pick up Peter and stop at the Three Broomsticks for a while,” she suggested, pushing open the door and walking out into the snow. “Give them some privacy for a while.”

 

“We should probably tell Pete so it's not a shock,” James replied as they made their way towards Zonko's. “Oh, Pete's probably going to have some suspiciously heavy Zonko's bags. Pay them no mind, would you?”

 

Lily sighed, but nodded. “I'll pretend I don't see them. But nothing dangerous!” she shook her finger at James. He laughed and shifted the books to one arm in order to take her hand.

 

“I make no such promise,” he joked, and they walked on towards the joke shop, and warmth, and laughter.

 


End file.
